Beginner’s Guide to Aromatherapy and Essential Oils

Beginner’s Guide to Aromatherapy and Essential Oils

The holiday season is coming to a close and everyone is getting ready to go back to work and school. Hopefully you had a wonderful and relaxing time off and feel ready to get back to work. However, there are many of us who feel the holidays are actually more stressful than our normal day-to-day life! If you had a stressful holiday, or just need some extra relaxation, reading this guide to aromatherapy and essential oils could help you find the peaceful escape you need.

If you have questions about essential oils, DoTerra, aromatherapy, or would like to schedule an aromatherapy massage, please contact us today to schedule an appointment, or just stop by our office at:

635 W Corona Suite 106Pueblo, Colorado 81004

What Is Aromatherapy?

Most people have heard the word aromatherapy and many may have an idea of what it entails. However, a large portion of people we’ve talked to do not have a solid grasp of what an aromatherapy massage entails and the its benefits compared to a normal massage.

Aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that can help with many conditions such as stress, anxiety, chronic pain, trouble sleeping, and much more. It works by using natural extracts from certain plants and absorbing them through the skin and/or nasal cavities and lungs.

This practice of using plants to help the body heal certain conditions has been in practice for thousands of years. As far back as ancient Egypt, archaeologists have found examples of ancient cultures using different parts of plants as a means of healing.

Around the 10th century AD is when the Persians began the process of taking certain plants and distilling their “essence” in the form of oils. For hundreds of years since, these essential oils have been used as a healing aid for physicians around the world.

How Does It Work?

Different oils have properties and traits that make them good for treating different ailments. For example, lavender is often used to help relieve stress. Peppermint can be used to boost energy and help with digestion. Ylang-ylang has been known to help with headaches, nausea, and certain skin conditions.

Once you have determined which oils would be the most helpful for your condition, there are a number of ways these oils can be absorbed into your body. The most common ways are simply either to open the bottle and smell the fumes as they are released into the air, or to rub them into your skin in specific areas like your temples or the bottom of your feet. However, there are other methods used to help your body absorb these essential oils more efficiently.

Olfaction and Inhalation — There are a number of different ways to get the fumes from the oils to spread through the air of a room so that they can be smelled and inhaled over a long period of time. One of the ways is by using diffusers, aromatic spritzers, or diffusion sticks. You can also find inhalers as a more discreet way of inhaling your essential oils in a way that does not affect the smell of the air around you if you would like to get the benefits of your oils while in the workplace.

Bathing — Adding essential oils to your bath water is an excellent way to increase the relaxation value of taking a bath while also adding the benefits of whatever oils you decide to use. You can also use diffusers or aromatic essential oil candles while you bathe to get the added bonus of inhaling the oils through the air.

Topical Application — There are many products that put certain essential oils — or combinations of oils — into creams, lotions, or body oils that can be applied to your skin. This is an excellent way to absorb the benefits of these oils because your skin does an excellent job of slowly adding the oils into your bloodstream in a way that can create a long-lasting effect.

Other — There are many other ways to apply essential oils such as facial steamers, clay masks, hot and cold compresses, etc. If you would like more information on what your options are for applying essential oils, stop by our office. We would love to answer any questions you have about essential oils or aromatherapy.

Why Get an Aromatherapy Massage?

One of the best ways you can receive the benefits of these essential oils is by getting an aromatherapy massage. The reason this is such a great method is it combines several applications at once, giving you the most relaxing and rejuvenating experiences possible. Not only do we use the oil on the area you want to focus on for your massage, but we can also diffuse that oil so that you are also able to absorb the oil through your olfactory and respiratory systems.

If you are feeling stressed or anxious, if you have muscle or joint pain that won’t go away, or if you want to explore other ways an aromatherapy massage could benefit you, please contact us today to schedule an appointment. Together we can determine which essential oils would provide you with the most benefits. We are also an official distributor of DoTerra products. If you need to purchase anything from DoTerra, we can help you find the best products for you and if we don’t have it in stock, we can make an order to get whatever you need. Stop by at our office or call today to see how Colorado Massage can help you on your aromatherapy journey.